Preikestolen

Overview

Panoramic view from Preikestolen.

Preikestolen (a.k.a. Pulpit Rock) is the most popular hike in the Stavanger area. Scenes of gawking tourists sunning on the table-flat top of this overhanging granite prow grace many postcards. Preikestolen rises over 600 m above scenic Lysefjord, a 40 km+ long classic Norwegian fjord. Views of Lysefjord from Preikestolen's summit are panoramic.

The standard route, a trail, climbs roughly 400 m over 3.8 km from the parking lot at Preikestolhytta. Aside from some minor route ambiguities, the path is obvious and well-marked, although quite rocky and muddy in spots. A couple alpine lakes at 2.5 km tempt swimmers on warm days. The views are scenic, but quite ordinary until just before Preikestolen. From Preikestolen, scramblers will enjoy the 100 m class 3 jaunt to the summit of Neverdalsfjellet, which boasts 360° views of Lysefjord and the island-studded bays toward Stavanger.

Climbing information

SP member Ari provided me with the following information on climbing Preikestolen:

There are two routes:

Raset
Length: 12 pitches + some walk-up
Difficulty: NOR 6, A1
First Ascent: Myklebust & Bae in 1995.

Fotturen
Length: 4 pitches + walk-up
Difficulty: NOR 5
First Ascent: Nessheim & Bae in 1995.

Getting There

The simplest way to reach Preikestolen is by private car. From Stavanger there are two options. The fastest is to take 39 south to Sandnes, 13 east to Lauvik, crossing the ferry (NKr 58 for a car, not including passengers) to Oanes, and continue to Preikestolen (well marked). The second way is to take the ferry from Stavanger to Tau (NKr 108 for a car, not including passengers), then 13 south to the Preikestolen turnoff.

In the busy season, you can take a bus from Tau to Preikestolhytta (late June - early September). The ferry station at Tau will have good information, as will any tourist office in Stavanger. You can also find more information on getting to the Preikestolen from Stavanger/Sandnes/Oslo at NextStopNorway -- Preikestolen information.

Red Tape

Car Ferry fees: Stavanger to Tau, NKr 108; Lauvik to Oanes, NKr 58. Parking at Preikestolhytta, NKr 50. Bus fare: unknown.

When To Climb

Dependent on road access. Winter closure dates can be seen on www.ryfylke.com. There they are listed in the 'news' link.

Accommodation

There are a couple of sites which give a good overview over the accommodation situation in the Ryfylke region. If you don't want to stay at Stavanger take a look at the following pages.

www.ryfylke.com

Camping
There is a campground, Preikestolencamping.com, rather near to the rock. Others ar farther away and are listed on the sites given above. Keep in mind that the weather in Norway can be very wet so that camping in tents is not always real fun. Most of the campgrounds offer cabins (Hytte).

There is a lodge at Preikestolhytta. Make a reservation at (+47) 971 65 551 or telefax (+47) 51 74 91 11 (ref: home.online.no).

Stavanger
Stavanger is the nearest city to Preikestolen; for information (accommodation, sights, museum, airport, etc) look at

www.virtualstavanger.com

Mountain Conditions

Look at www.met.no to get the current weather for Norway. Look in the "Stavanger" column to see the weather in the region, or Forsand for the Preikestolen area specifically.

External Links

• Morgan Brown's Preikestolen photos
• NextStopNorway
  
  

Images

View Preikestolen Image Gallery - 18 Images